Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Berea (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Berea. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Berea is located in Giles County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Giles County: Limestone (AL), Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall & Maury.
Below are the counties that are near Berea. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Berea:
- Giles County (The home county of Berea)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Powell Chapel
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Powell Chapel is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell Chapel
- Olivet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Olivet is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,350 people
- Aymett Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Aymett Town is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aymett Town
- Gordon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Gordon is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Pulaski
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bufords
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bufords is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bufords
- Pisgah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Wales
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wales is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Trigg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trigg is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigg
- Estimated population in 2014: 851 people
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Frankewing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Green Field
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Green Field is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Palmetto
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Palmetto is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
- Estimated population in 2014: 661 people
- Whitaker
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Whitaker is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Fall River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- New Prospect
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Webber City
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Webber City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webber City
- Ethridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Lawrenceburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Flatwoods
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Flatwoods is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Appleton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Leoma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Park Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Park Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Grove
- Henryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Henryville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henryville
- Busby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Liberty Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Loretto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Boonshill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Boonshill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonshill
- Dellrose
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hughey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hughey is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughey
- Coldwater
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Coldwater is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Pearl City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pearl City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
- Cash Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cash Point is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Point
- Harms
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Harms is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harms
- Petersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Molino
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Molino is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Molino
- Camargo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Camargo is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camargo
- Belleville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Belleville is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleville
- Elk Mill Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Elk Mill Village is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mill Village
- Fayetteville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Cornersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Town is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Yell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Yell is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yell
- Delina
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Delina is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delina
- Globe
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Globe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
- Cochran
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cochran is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran
- Lewisburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Orrs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Orrs is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
- Estimated population in 2014: 123 people
- Talley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Talley is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talley
- Belfast
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Belfast is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
- South Berlin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- South Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Berlin
- Oak Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Hill is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Berlin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Maury County
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Culleoka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Scribner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Scribner is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scribner
- Screamer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Screamer is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Screamer
- Southport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Southport is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,110 people
- Broadview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Broadview is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadview
- Enterprise
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Enterprise is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Scotts Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Scotts Mill is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 983 people
- Philadelphia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Philadelphia is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- Estimated population in 2014: 683 people
- Frierson Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frierson Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frierson Town
- Estimated population in 2014: 923 people
- Leftwich
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Leftwich is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leftwich
- Jonesboro ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jonesboro is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,238 people
- Graymere Manor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Graymere Manor is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graymere Manor
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,222 people
- Mount Pleasant
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Lauderdale County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Bethel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Anderson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Lexington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Limestone County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Pettusville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Ardmore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Estaville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Estaville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estaville
- Lester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lester is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Elkmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Caro
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Caro is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caro
- Hay's Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Wooley Springs ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wooley Springs is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooley Springs
- Cairo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Center Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Center Hill is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Hill
- Lentzville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Madison County (AL)
- The following are listed by their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Elkwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Elkwood is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwood
- Madison Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Madison Crossroads is located in Madison County (AL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Crossroads
- Toney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harvest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Berea, see our County-by-County Page for Berea.
Cemeteries Near Berea ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Berea.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Berea - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Berea covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Powell Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- New Providence Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Williams Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Samuel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Franklin Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Maxwell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pointer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Simpson Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Marks Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McNeese Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- New Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Burton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (1369 more) ...
- Hall Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- White Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harris Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Berea in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Berea.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Berea, with the one closest to Berea listed first.
- Sumac
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Sumac is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumac
- Odd Fellows Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Odd Fellows Hall is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odd Fellows Hall
- Brick Church
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brick Church is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Church
- Pulaski
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pisgah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pisgah is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Diana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Diana is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
- Bufords
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bufords is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bufords
- Wales
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wales is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wales
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,031 people
- Bradshaw ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bradshaw is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradshaw
- Lynnville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bivens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bivens is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bivens
- Harwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Harwell is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwell
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bunker Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bunker Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Goodspring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Goodspring is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodspring
- Ostella
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ostella is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostella
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Berea. See our List of 1890's Communities around Berea.
Newspapers Published in Berea ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Berea.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Berea, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Berea.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Berea:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Giles County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Lawrence County
- Lincoln County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone County
- Madison County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Berea, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Berea) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |